N.Y., eight other states sue over cement kiln emissions

New York is among nine states that have filed a suit seeking to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to extend pollution limits to existing portland cement plants.

The agency in late 2006 said it was imposing limits on mercury and other pollutants to new cement kilns and recently renovated ones, but required no changes for existing plants.

The EPA said its rules would result in between 1,300 and 3,000 pounds of mercury a year from getting into the environment. At the time, environmentalists accused the EPA of issuing rules that incorporated cement industry positions.

An earlier court ruling required EPA to set the new rules. The agency said it believes the rules it did issue complied with that court ruling.

The latest suit was filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

"It is shameful that the Bush Administration's EPA continues to abdicate its responsibility to protect public health and the environment," New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a statement released by his office. "This coalition of states is resorting to the federal courts in an effort to compel the EPA to follow the law and establish limits for the most dangerous pollutants."

Other states signing onto the suit are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

An EPA spokesman said the suit was being reviewed and that the agency would respond when appropriate.